Overview
eCrash is wireless mobile application that replaces paper based crash reports. This
application allows crash report data to be entered once, unlike the current process,
and minimizes human error by providing extensive user-friendly features. Also, accident
reports can be immediately transmitted to the officer's supervisor for approval. The
system provides a central server repository that can be used for statistical reports
and data analysis.

The eCrash system serves over 150 Law Enforcement agencies across North Carolina.
 

The seamless integration of Trancite
Logic Systems'  Easy Street Draw crash
drawing package allowed officers to
quickly diagram the crash scene.

The eCrash software is lightweight and
easily deployed across wireless networks.
 

Solution
Interplat's first step was to make better use of existing hardware and Microsoft®
Windows™ operating systems by writing the client application with Microsoft®
VisualStudio. A three-tier model, which was so successful for eCitation, was
developed with Microsoft's component-based architecture. By implementing a
solution based on COM, Interplat was able to make use of various third-party
components and write the complete application in less than six months. The
result was an intuitive, easy to use, single-window application that Windows™
users have come to expect.

The data integrity challenges were solved by extensive use of dropdown lists. The items
in the lists are filtered appropriately so that an officer cannot inadvertently make a bad
choice. The use of dropdowns not only solved the data integrity issues, but also greatly
minimized the data entry time.
 

Interplat reduced the data entry
time even further by implementing
the ability for officers to enter
driver information either by
scanning the North Carolina drivers
license barcode or by getting the
information directly from the North
Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.
In addition, many of the fields default
to the last used values, allowing
officers to skip over them entirely.

The deployment issue was solved by
creating a professional, wizard-style
installation that can be run either from
a CD-ROM, a network, or the Internet.
 

Like eCitation, eCrash allows officers to work either "online" or "offline". When working
online, crash reports may be electronically transmitted to a centralized server, where a
supervisor can review the crash report. Once acted upon by a supervisor, the system
indicates successful and unsuccessful crash report completion by either associating
the DMV "crash ID" with the crash report or presenting the officer with appropriate error
messages. If errors are encountered, the officer may correct them and retransmit the
crash report to his/her supervisor. Data entry errors are again greatly reduced by
improved client-side data validation before transmission.

The ability to work "offline" allows officers to continue writing crash reports even if the
centralized server is down. 

Officers can still print their crash reports in the well known DMV-349 format when
required by their supervisors, or the courts.